Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Calcutta High Court on August 13 ordered a CBI probe into the alleged rape and murder of a woman junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata last week.
Hearing a clutch of petitions in the matter, a division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya ordered a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as demanded by the victim’s family members.
The bench also directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police, which is currently probing the matter, to immediately handover all the relevant documents, CCTV footage, and evidence to the CBI officials.
Examining the case diary submitted by the police, the division bench observed that the progress of the investigation has not been satisfactory. Earlier on August 12, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that the state administration will hand over the probe to the CBI if the SIT is unable to conclude the investigation in a week. However, on August 12, the counsels for the petitioners argued that that time-frame might have a negative impact on the investigation since there were chances of tampering with the evidence during the interim period.
The bench accepted the arguments and observed that during the last few days after the body of the victim was found in the seminar hall of the R.G. Kar MCH, there had not been any significant progress in the probe.
